Rain, rain, go away
by SharanMcQuack
Summary: Dr. Strangeduck succeeeds in starting a rainstorm in a drought area. Now, if only he could STOP it!


Rain, Rain Go Away

By Sharan McQuack, Launchpad's wife.

With thanks to Strech Snodgrass for suggestions when I got stuck. And I

liked Danny Kaye in "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" better.

This all started when Ludwig Von Strangeduck invented a rain making machine.

He brought it to where there was a bad drought going on, a nearby farming town.

The device at first, worked just fine. It brought rain to the area. But it kept on raining,

harder and harder, faster and faster until the area faced a flood. The more Dr. Strangeduck

tried to turn the fool thing OFF, the more it seem to stick, the harder it seemed to rain.

Dr. Strangeduck tried to yank the batteries out of it, but it was raining so hard, the

rainmaker slipped thur his fingers and sank into the water. It quickly got caught up in the

current of a fast-flowing river and disappeared.

So Dr. Strangeduck called Launchpad and Gizmoduck and told them what had happened.

"The rain won't stop till my device is turned off!" he told them.

I don't think they believed him, but the reports of the flooding there were getting

alarming, so we all went to help. We assumed this was a normal flood.

Soon, we were conferring with the National Guard and volunteers there to fight the

flooding.

We wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. We soon were delivering

sandbags and other equipment to people building make-shift dams, evaluating people

from low-lying areas, helping dig channels for drainage.

Giz was a big help there, using his gadgets to dig. Giz couldn't carry too much

equipment, what with the weight limitations on jet packs, but he carried delicate

stuff, directed traffic, kept everybody on the same page.

Launchpad used an adaption of his world's first cloudplower, putting long poles

with plows on the end at the front of our planes. We plowed ditches to carry for

rain water, Giz used the dirt we piled up for dams.

We were very busy. "Could you go get the Thunderquack and use it's ultrasonic

digger to dig thur cement instead of just earth?"

"No time and I might hit an electric cable or gas line or water main by accident!"

Launchpad replied.

"Good thing I asked before trying that with my gizmos!" Giz replied.

In between we kept our eyes open for people in danger from drowning (especially people

who WILL try to drive cars in flooded areas) I spotted an area where junk was damming

up a river in a bad place, causing flooding behide the jam.

And I spotted some fool in a boat, fishing. It was raining so hard he was in real danger

of his boat filling up with water. It was Dr, Strangeduck.

"What are you doing here? "I asked him.

I'm "fishing" for my rainmaker with an electromagnet. The rain won't stop unless

I turn it off! "Dr. Strangeduck replied. "It's very tough and I don't stop it soon, this

rain may not stop even if I turn it off!"

"Sir, are you sure the rainmaker is what's causing this rain?" I asked him, worried

he had cracked.

"Talk to the weather bureau if you don't believe me! They'll tell you they did not

spot any clouds on radar, that this storm came from nowhere and is only in this area."

Dr. Strangeduck.

Giz talked to the weather bureau with his radio, and they confirmed this: this storm

had NOT been tracked on radar, had come out of no place and was only in this area.

There was still a bad drought outside this tiny area.

"There is a bottleneck of junk below me! Junk is blocking up water and I think my

rainmaker is down there, someplace! I think it changes weather patterns- you know

how something it rains for days and does nothing but rain? This is worse! It literally

does nothing but rain and it may get stuck like this if I don't turn it off! The area it

effects may grow, too!" Dr. Strangeduck explained.

"I have a sub that might find it in time, but I don't know how to drive the silly

thing..." Dr. Strangeduck said.

"I do! I need to go down there to get rid of that bottleneck, it 's causing flooding.

I'll see if I spot that rainmaker of yours!" Launchpad said.

"Good. Here is a photo of my rainmaker. I will take you to my minisub, it's only a

3 person sub so I won't fit. I meant to hire somebody to test on this river anyway."

Dr. Strangeduck said. "Take my electromagnet, too."

Soon, Me, Launchpad and Giz were testing the minisub by looking for the rainmaker

and unstopping the bottleneck.

The river had even more junk in it then normal. Junk had been washed into it.

"I'm sure glad Mr. McDee ain't here." Launchpad soon commented.

I knew what he meant, the river had so much trash in it, it was impossible to avoid

it all. Swerve to avoid hitting something dangerous with ragged edges that might

damage the sub and you bump against something soft and harmless. But Mr. McDuck

would of throw a fit about "crashes" due to frustration about the fact he can't drive

anything with a motor and his temper.

Mr. McDuck is just one of those people who demand as his simple due the

impossible. Being as rich as he is, he gets away with it. Launchpad has learned

how to humor him.

Anyway, we managed to get to the blocked up section and there we spotted

the rainmaker in with a bunch of junk. On top of the rainmaker.

A bunch of junk was balanced above it, piled like a tent. Touch anything

and it would crush the rainmaker. Which I thought would shut it off but good,

but why take chances?

"How we supposed to get it out without crushing it?" Launchpad asked.

"Allow me. If you prepare the electromagnet and yank up the junk when

I say "NOW", I'll pull out the rainmaker." Giz replied.

Giz snaked out a sort-of-tentacle, a robotic arm that wrapped around the

rainmaker.

"NOW!" Giz yelled.

I had moved the electromagnet to metal junk above the rainmaker. I

turned it on at the signal and yanked out the rainmaker.

Launchpad was "driving" the sub.

Giz's robot arm retracted into the g-suit, carrying the rainmaker with it.

"Here's the "off" switch, but it's all rusty. "Launchpad said.

"No worries." Giz replied "I'm made of mostly iron and steel."

And Giz withdrew an oil can, oiled the "off" switch.

And then turned the rainmaker off.

"You've done it! The rain has stopped!" said Dr. Strangeduck, via

the radio from the shore.

"That CAN'T be a coincidence." I said. "The rainmaker MUST of started

the rain."

Well, we returned the rainmaker to Dr. Strangeduck.

"I'll put in some extra off switches, under plastic removable lids, and try

again. Carefully." Dr. Strangeduck said.

Well, while we helped diverted the water to areas still effected, Dr. Strangeduck

fiddled around with his device. He was soon bringing a little rain to drought

effected areas for a little while. And experimenting to see how long he could do

so safely, since the rain had to come from someplace and he still wasn't sure where.

What if he was causing a drought elsewhere?

The End.


End file.
